Rep Power: 0

Well, I bought a 2001 coupe used, and was retarded and didn't bother asking for a warranty.

Anyway, about 3-4k miles driving it, the CE light comes on during a cross-country trip. I got it diagnosed once I made it to San Diego and the code popped up as a 9074, or something like that. Basically the alert was for Torque Converter Destruction, and they, being a dealership, wanted $2500 to replace the whole tranny. I told them no back then, and got my tranny fluid replaced, in which they said that there wasn't any amount of aluminum shavings when they swiped the magnet. I have had no issues with the car's acceleration, shifting, or anything for that matter. The code was diagnosed at 94,000, and the fluid replaced at 95,000.

Now I am at 105,000, and still no car trouble whatsoever. I recently drained and filled my tranny fluid manually, twice, after driving around a bit, and got the fluid to a good level about 3/4 between the min. and full marks on a warm engine running. When I wiped the magnet, it was a little black, but the drained fluid still looked a healthy red, and I didn't have any shavings at all.

So as I've said before, my car is still running normally, with no issues whatsoever, but the CE light keeps popping off and on. It doesn't stay on for that long, and same with the time it's off. To put it simply, it is annoying the crap out of me.

Now if my tranny decides to die on me sometime in the future, I am fine with replacing it then. For now I just want to stop with this CE light off/on annoyance. I have triple checked, and it's still the same code registering, so it's not another code popping up or anything to that extent. Is it possible the sensor is either really sensitive or just simply on the fritz?

Regardless, I read about some people with a similar issue that just simply popped the bulb out to avoid looking at it. I wanted to do the same thing, but got stuck on how to remove the bulb, as the gauges block easy access to it, and I don't want to risk damaging my needles trying to see if they pop off or not.

So my question to you all:

Do the needles pop out like certain models, or is there another way of removing the gauge plastic cover?

 
Rep Power: 290

Why not put some electrical tape over the light? Its ghetto but you wont have to pull apart the cluster after you get the problem fixed in the future.

 
Rep Power: 811

ya except you wont know when any other problem happens either

 
Rep Power: 0

They have a code reader in the hobby shop I go to. Guess I'll just have to give it a monthly check to see if any other codes come up. Surprisingly I am OCD enough that I would do that, rather than have to stare at this light more.

Now, breaking off from the CE talk, let's talk about the actual issue. Honda has told me that I am doomed to replace my whole torque converter and transmission. Basically saying my transmission is terminal.

So, if the code is for TC destruction, are there any aftermarket TC that I can upgrade to for less than the cost of a new transmission? Perhaps a new TC plus a transmission oil cooler can prolong the life of my tranny.

I take good care of my car, and I'm pretty OCD about keeping everything in top shape, which is why I'm so frustrated about an issue like this.